Post Surgical Orthopaedic Rehabilitation

Physiotherapy before and after surgery

Treatment after surgery

Following orthopaedic surgery, be it a knee replacement, hip replacement, arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, ACL reconstruction or spine surgery you should always consult a physiotherapist. We will help you manage the acute swelling, loss of function and pain while restoring normal function as quickly and as safely possible.

Pre-Operation

If you have sustained a serious injury and are awaiting orthopaedic surgery and have not yet seen a physiotherapist, we strongly advise you see one. The reason for this is not to try and prevent surgery, but to assist your body in being as ready as possible for surgery and subsequently accelerating rehabilitation. We call this prehabilitation. Often there is little intervention needed prior to surgery, but the majority of patients will benefit from regaining some movement and strength prior to an operation.

Post-Operation – How Long Should You Wait?

Do not wait! Immediately following surgery your body is starting the healing process. The physiotherapist’s job is to ensure you can ambulate safely and encourage all the uninjured structures surrounding the injury retain normal function, as to best prevent compensation injuries. Patients are sometimes advised to wait with physiotherapy for several weeks due to concerns that exercises may re-injure the repaired structures. All our physiotherapists have experience in an acute orthopaedic setting and do not prescribe exercises before you are safely ready to do them. We work closely with your surgeon and progress your rehabilitation based on his input.

If you are awaiting surgery or have just had surgery we advise you see a physiotherapist to plan your rehabilitation process.